Beauty
by AlexanderCastle
Summary: A series of loosely connected one-shots taken from different moments in the lives of Mal Fallon and Natara Williams. Fluff, romance, and family stuff ahead. Set after the end of Volume 16:7, discounts the events of the series epilogue. In other words, slightly AU.
1. Beauty Redefined

**Beauty - A series of inter-related one-shots set in the Cause of Death universe**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Cause of Death.**

**Setting: Paris, a few years after the events of Episode 16, minus the Epilogue.**

* * *

He stands in the doorway that leads out onto the balcony of the hotel room, watching his girlfriend as she contentedly stares out over the Parisian skyline. Her raven-black hair falls neatly over her shoulders, framing her slender features perfectly, and turns an almost plum red colour as the last rays of the setting sun hit it. It's the fourth night of their two week long holiday in Paris and, while he's still slightly surprised that they were able to get that much time off without there being any issues, there's no reason for him to complain. She's relaxed and truly at ease for the first time now in over three months, and he finds himself truly grateful to be able to spend this precious time with the woman that he loves. "You were right when you said we should come back here, Mal. The view from up here is absolutely gorgeous".

It takes him a few seconds to realize that she's spoken. Her voice is soft and gentle, the tone that she saves for when they're alone together instead of the formal, business-like, tones she takes while they're hunting for serial killers, and he can't help but think about the way that he seems to fall a little deeper in love with her every time that she speaks to him in that way. He walks over to join her by the balcony, offering his arm to her. She accepts gratefully and lets him slip his arm around her shoulders as she leans into his side. He kisses her on the cheek tenderly, and his mouth lingers at her ear momentarily after he pulls away. "It is indeed. It's still nothing compared to you though"

She blushes at his compliment, playfully punching him in the shoulder. "Sap"

"Only for you, my dear Natara. Only for you".

He can feel the small box digging into his leg through the thin black pants he is wearing, eagerly awaiting its chance to play its own part in his plans for the night, and he can't help but think back to the moment that he knew the contents of the box would be perfect for the woman beside him.

**~Three weeks earlier~**

The bell mounted above the shop door tinkled as Mal pushed it open and stepped through into the small San Francisco jewellery store. The receptionist currently on duty, a young blonde woman who Mal thought couldn't have been more than 23 years of age, looked up right away, smiling as she spotted him. "How may I be of service, sir?"

The detective considered the question. "Could you help me find an engagement ring, please? I'm planning to propose to my girlfriend in Paris later this month, and I'm having a bit of trouble finding the perfect ring for her".

The woman nodded. "Of course, that's what I'm here for. Are you looking for anything specific?"

Mal rubbed the back of his head nervously. Despite the fact that he'd been planning to do something like this for a while, the sheer enormity of the decision to change his relationship with Natara had not quite hit him yet. "Something simple yet elegant. Suitable for her to wear to work if she wanted to, but also suitable for her to wear for any special events or celebrations that she might have to attend. Do you have anything like that?"

The woman, whose nametag read Kirsty, smiled at the detective as he spoke. "I think I might have just the thing you're looking for. Right this way"

Mal followed the young woman over to a counter on the right side of the store. She slid the drawers to the counter open and reached inside briefly, before producing a small box of blue velvet and laying it on top of the counter between them. "Alright, what do you think of this one?"

She flicked the lid of the box back to reveal a ring of white gold. Both sides of the band met at the top, winding around the diamond mounted in the exact center, which, Mal considered, was practically perfect for Natara. And, as an added bonus, it matched his girlfriend's grey eyes beautifully. "What type of ring is it?"

"It's a Mark Schneider design Aerial ring. We have three different ones available. This one here is 14-carat gold, we also have 18-carat gold and platinum in the same design".

Mal studied the ring for a moment longer, before nodding. "I don't need to see anything else. This one is absolutely perfect. It's exactly what I'm looking for. Thank you so much".

The younger woman nodded, taking the ring over to the register. "Would you like it engraved?" she queried.

"Please. I want the words 'Beauty Redefined' engraved on the inside, preferably right here" Mal responded, indicating the desired spot with one finger.

"Certainly. It should be done in four to five days, if you want to come back then".

Mal smiled appreciatively. "Thank you. Is it alright if I pay for it now?"

"Of course, sir. I'll just need to take your name and phone number so that I can get someone to call you when it's ready".

Mal reached into his pocket and withdrew a handful of business cards secured by an elastic band, placing one of them on the counter between them. "There you go".

He quickly paid and thanked the girl again before leaving the store, a smile on his face. Natara was going to love this.

**~Present day~**

"What're you thinking about, Mal?" Natara queries idly, breaking him from his thoughts.

He can't help but notice that, while he was lost in his memories of the events three weeks ago, she has shifted slightly so that, while she is still snuggled into his side, her head is now resting lightly on his shoulder. He places a gentle kiss to the younger woman's forehead before responding. "How lucky I am. I have a beautiful girlfriend, an amazing partner, great friends, and a job I love doing. There's only one way my life could get any better than this" he mused.

"And how exactly would that be?"

Mal's hand close around the box of blue velvet in his pocket, and he withdraws it, palming the box in his hand to keep it from his girlfriend's eyes. "I'm going to need a little space for this, if you don't mind".

Natara raises an eyebrow, but nods, reluctantly shifting so she is no longer leaning against her boyfriend. Mal lifts the box from his side, rotating it so that the side with the hinges is facing towards him before letting Natara spot it. Her grey eyes widen. "Mal…"

Mal sinks to one knee in front of her, flicking the lid of the box back to reveal the ring that he had purchased three weeks earlier. "You've been my girlfriend for over a year now, and recent events have made me realize that there's no sense in putting off until tomorrow what you can do today. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone else, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Natara Williams, will you marry me?"

Unable to speak, her grey eyes fill with tears, and she nods wordlessly as her new fiancée slides the ring from its box and onto her finger before getting to his feet. Throwing her arms around him, she brings her lips to his ear, whispering "Yes. Yes, Mal. I will marry you".

He hugs her back, whispering his thanks into her neck. His warm breath tickles the back of her neck as he does so, and she can't help but laugh at the feeling. "I love you" she whispers.

"I love you too, Natara. So, so much".


	2. Consideration

**Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Cause of Death, nor do I own any of the characters except Kirsty (the sales clerk in the previous Chapter), Sarah (the real estate agent in this Chapter), and Victoria Fallon (the as-yet-unborn daughter of Mal and Natara)**

**This Chapter references events from Volume 1 of CoD.**

**Setting - Pacific Heights, two years after Mal proposed to Natara.**

"Are you absolutely sure about this, Mal? Surely there are other neighbourhoods that are less… killer-ish… than this one. And probably more suited to our needs, too" the woman muttered, casting a glance at the man who sat in the driver's seat of the car beside her as he pulled their car into a free parking space on the side of the road.

The man sighed, reaching over to undo his seatbelt before leaning over and kissing her gently on the cheek. "As much as I agree that there are definitely neighbourhoods more suited to our needs than Pacific Heights, Nat, we owe it to ourselves to at least check the place out, right?"

Though she was unconvinced, Nat gave a slight nod before undoing her own seatbelt as her companion opened his door and stepped out of the car, quickly moving to her door and opening it, offering his hand to help her out. She accepted gratefully, and the two of them stood there momentarily, appraising the large house they had parked in front of. The walls were made of some sort of whitewashed brick, like many of the other houses in the area. A gravel driveway led down the side of the house to a wooden garage that looked to be big enough to fit two cars in with plenty of room to breathe, and in the front of the house a small flight of green wooden steps led up to a plain-looking oak door. The few trees that surrounded it were clearly well-kept, as was the lush green grass of the front lawn, where a large 'For Sale' sign had been set up. Nat cast a glance at the man standing beside her. "Last chance, Mal. We can get back in the car, turn around, get out of here, and find somewhere a bit smaller. No-one has to even know we were here".

The only response she received was the feeling of his arm slipping around her waist and a whispered "Too late for that, unfortunately. We've been spotted".

She looked up in surprise, and sighed when she noticed the woman in the blue suit approaching them from the general direction of the front door. "Can I help you two?" the real estate agent queried.

The man nodded. "I'm Mal, and this is my wife, Natara. We were passing through the neighbourhood when we saw the 'For Sale' sign, and we were wondering if we might be able to take a look around the place, maybe ask you a couple of things about the neighbourhood".

The woman looked thoughtfully at them for a moment, and for a moment Natara felt like they had met her before, but the woman nodded and the feeling of recognition vanished. "Of course. What do you want to know?"

"Is there anything in particular that may detract from our safety or that of any children we may have in the future?" Natara queried.

Her hand rested protectively on the swell of her stomach beneath her long-sleeved black shirt, and Mal glanced at her, wordlessly asking her if she was alright. She nodded, giving him the gentle smile she seemed to reserve only for him, before both of them turned their attention back to the real estate agent. "Not that I'm aware of, no. The house on the cliff was used by the serial killer known as The Maskmaker for a while a couple of years ago, but it's been abandoned ever since his death. The neighbourhood has actually been rather quiet since then. I mean, it was quiet before, but now it's even more so".

Natara cast a quick glance at her husband as the real estate agent spoke, making sure that he was alright. _Mal remembered the Maskmaker case well, probably even better than she herself did. She supposed Eric's betrayal had hurt him deeper than he'd ever care to admit. It was the same way with her for Shawn Mallory's betrayal. She'd long since moved on from the man who had once been her boyfriend, of course, otherwise she and Mal wouldn't be where they were that day, but it still stung a little. And it probably always would._ At last, Mal spoke. "That's good to know. Is there anything else we should know before we take a look around the place? It's not that we're worried about serial killers or anything, though it's definitely nice to know there's no need to be concerned in that regard, but it's more that we're wanting to be sure of the safety of our daughter".

The real estate agent, whose nametag Natara had only just noticed read 'Sara', smiled at them. "You're pregnant? If you don't mind me asking, how far along are you?"

Natara couldn't help but smile back. "Five months as of two days ago. When we found out last week that we were going to have a daughter, everything just sort of fell into place. We've even picked out a name for her already. Victoria. Honestly, I don't think I've ever been happier".

Mal smiled at her, slipping his arm around her waist, and she leaned into his side instinctively. "Neither have I. Now come on, we have a house to check out".

**Updated to fix a typo in Natara's narration where she refers to her husband as 'she'. No clue how that got in there.**


	3. A Stormy Night

**Thank you so much for all of your kind Reviews (and for welcoming me into the fandom), you have no idea how much I appreciate it. **

**Here's an update.**

_**For Tori, without whom I might never have tried my hand at writing Matara 'fics. I owe you. **_

_**Disclaimer: EA owns Cause of Death, not me. Though I do have the game on my iPhone.**_

_**Setting - Five years after 'Consideration', though with a flashback to the day Mal found out Natara was pregnant.**_

**~Natara Williams~**

_-Just under six years ago-_

_The black-haired woman stared at the sheet of crisp, white, paper in her hand. There was no doubt in her mind now why she had been feeling so off for the past couple of weeks, and it had nothing to do with the cold weather they had been experiencing lately or with the stress of the cases she and her husband had been working. She'd suspected as much, honestly, but it was always good to have confirmation of the truth. "Nat? You alright?"_

_She glanced up, her grey eyes meeting her husband's blue ones, and she nodded. "I'm fine, Mal. Just… thinking about things"._

_Her husband shrugged off his jacket, hanging it on the coat rack near the door. "Anything in particular that I should know about?" he queried._

_Natara grinned in response, holding up the paper she had been looking at. "Is that… Is that what I think it is?"_

_"__Yup. The results came back, Mal. And they're exactly what we thought they'd be"._

_She couldn't help but laugh at the awestruck look on Mal's face. "You're pregnant?"_

_She smiled, standing and meeting him halfway between the couch and the door. Her husband wrapped his arms around her waist, and she burrowed her face into his neck, breathing in the distinctive scent of his cologne. "Yeah, I am. We're going to be parents, Mal"._

_In response, her husband's arms fastened tighter around her waist, and she looked up, noticing his wide smile and sparkling blue eyes. "You're going to be an amazing mother, Nat. You're kind, loving, dedicated, loyal, and the most amazing person I have ever known. You have so much love to give that it's impossible for you not to be"._

_She felt herself blush. "Thank you. And for the record, I think you're going to be an absolutely amazing father"._

_She had never really thought of herself as the kind of person who would ever be a mother, but ever since she had started to suspect that she was pregnant about five days before, she'd been eagerly awaiting the results. And Mal's reaction to the news had just sealed the deal for her. She chuckled as her husband placed a light kiss to the top of her forehead, and he pulled away slightly, giving her a questioning look. "What's so funny?" he queried._

_"__I just realized. We're going to need a bigger house"._

_Her husband paused, considering this. While the apartment that they currently used was bigger than the one that he had previously lived in, it was still small, possessing only a bedroom, a bathroom that could only be accessed from that bedroom, a lounge, a small hallway, and a couple of small guest rooms, one of which was being used for a study. While it was far from the worst possible place for them to raise their family, it was also far from the best. Mal smiled at her. "I'll have to do some research, but I think that I might have the perfect place in mind"._

_Natara narrowed her eyes. "You're not going to tell me, are you?"_

_Mal smirked playfully. "Nope"._

-Present day-

She wasn't sure what it was that woke her, whether it was the thunderstorm outside the house or the creaking floorboard near the doorway into the master bedroom, but she sat up, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the dimly-lit room. Her grey eyes focused on a figure standing by the doorway that led into the room, and she smiled softly. "Victoria, what are you doing up so late?" she asked softly, careful not to wake her sleeping husband.

"Scared" came her daughter's whisper from the doorway where she was standing.

Her eyes caught the subtle way in which the young girl's body was trembling, and she immediately realized what the matter was. "'Toria, did the storm scare you?" she queried.

Her daughter nodded, and the raven-haired woman immediately opened her arms. "Come here".

Running to her side immediately, the young girl threw herself into her mother's arms, and Natara caught her breath as her daughter's weight pressed against her stomach. Immediately, Victoria pulled back, the sapphire eyes she had inherited from her father full of concern. "Mommy? Did I hurt you?"

Shaking her head softly, Natara placed a gentle arm around her daughter's waist and pressed a kiss to the girl's forehead. "No, not at all, 'Toria. My stomach's just very sensitive at the moment, remember?"

"Oh".

As the girl slipped into the empty space between her parents, burrowing her way under the warm blankets, she nuzzled into her mother's neck, and the feeling, that sensation of closeness with someone she loved, caused Natara's heart to skip a beat. Victoria Fallon was a cuddler, just like her father. _And really, _Natara thought as she rested one hand on the slight swell of her stomach, _I can't think of anything better on a night like tonight._ As she drifted off to sleep, her last thoughts were of how amazingly perfect her life had become in the past six years, and how there was absolutely no way she'd ever want to have it any other way.

**How was it?**

**And yes, the last paragraph does hint that Natara is pregnant for a second time (which is probably correct). I'd love to hear your thoughts on possible names for either gender, since I haven't decided whether the child will be a boy or girl yet. Or twins (also possible).**

**Edit - 'she felt herself blushed'? I could have sworn I'd fixed that. Well, it's fixed now.**


	4. Perfection

**Here's the next part of the continuing story of Mal and Natara, as well as their family (and friends). This one takes place approximately four months after Consideration, and five years before A Stormy Night. Mal and Natara have been married for about two years.**

**Again, thank you to everyone who Reviewed. I love hearing your thoughts.**

_**Disclaimer - Do you really need to know this? No, I don't own the rights to Cause of Death. Never have.**_

**For Tori, who suggested the full name of Mal and Natara's first-born daughter.**

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Mal stared down at the new-born girl in his arms, marvelling at how perfect his daughter was. Her entire body, wrapped in the soft white of a hospital blanket was tiny enough to fit into his arms without taking up very much room at all, though still big enough to be perfectly healthy, and her tiny chest rose and fell with every breath that she took. Her bright eyes, a shade of blue almost exactly like his own, flickered open, fixing themselves on his face, and her mouth split open in a toothless grin. Mal couldn't help but smile back at her. When he spoke next, his voice was gentle, almost soft. "Hey, kiddo"

He tickled his daughter's stomach with one finger, and a sound that, to Mal, sounded like something between a gurgle and a giggle escaped the new-born's lips. And the SFPD Detective was certain that it was the most perfect sound that he had ever heard. "Isn't she the most beautiful, perfect, thing you've ever seen?"

Mal glanced up as the woman lying in the hospital bed next to him spoke, her voice just as quiet as his own, and the cobalt-blue of his eyes met the soft grey of his wife's. He smiled softly at her. "She certainly is. It's almost hard to believe that this is really happening, that we're actually parents now. This little life is depending on us for nourishment, security, and unconditional love, and we're actually ready to do this".

Natara laughed softly, her voice melodious as it filled the air of the quiet hospital room. Their daughter shifted slightly in Mal's arms, as if she sensed her mother's presence nearby. "Oh, this is really happening alright, Mal. The exhaustion I feel right now will attest to that".

Mal stood from the chair beside his wife's bed, instead sitting down beside her, and together they stared down at their daughter. "God, Mal, she's so beautiful".

"With a mother like you, how could she be anything but?" her husband replied.

Natara blushed. It had always been rare that someone would be able to make her feel as confident about herself, or at least it had been until she had met Mal for the first time only a couple of years earlier. Ever since their first meeting during the Maskmaker case, she had always been sure that there was something about the older detective's personality that had, quite honestly, intrigued her. She was a little surprised by how long it had taken her to realize that she had fallen for the man who was now her husband, but she knew that, if she had the chance, she wouldn't have changed a thing. Her husband's gentle voice broke her from her thoughts. "Nat? Nat, honey, the doctor's here".

She looked up, surprised. A tall, blonde-haired, man stood patiently at the foot of the bed. "Dr. Baxter. What can we do for you?" she queried.

"Do you have a name for her yet?" the doctor queried, hopeful. "We really do need something to put on her birth certificate".

Mal and Natara glanced at each other. In the four months that had passed since they had purchased their new house, the subject of names had come up almost too many times to mention. It had always been their plan to name their first child Victoria, if the child in question turned out to be a girl, and the last name was always, naturally, going to be Fallon, so the focal point of their discussions for most of those four months were middle names. And eventually, they had settled on one that they liked more than any other. As soon as Mal had spoken the name a week before the due date, they had both known. Mal nodded. "Her name is Victoria. Victoria Eliza Fallon".

"A beautiful name"

**~Ten minutes later~**

A black-haired young woman poked her head into the room. "Hey guys".

Mal smiled at her. "Hi Amy"

The data analyst crossed to stand beside the bed. "Have you thought of a name yet?"

Natara smiled warmly, her eyes never leaving the sleeping form of her daughter. "Amy, we'd like you to meet Victoria Eliza Fallon"

Amy smiled. "It's a perfect name. She's beautiful, you two. She really is"

"Would you like to hold her?" Natara queried.

Amy's eyes widened. "Can I?"

Mal nodded, slipping his hands gently under the blanket-wrapped form of his daughter and lifting her before passing her to Amy. Amy took her carefully into her arms, tickling the new-born's chest gently with one finger as Mal himself had done only minutes before. After this had gone on for a couple of minutes without anyone speaking, Natara and Mal glanced at each other, Mal nodding. "Amy, Mal and I have been thinking a lot about this, and there's something the two of us would like to ask you".

Their friend glanced up, confused. "What is it?"

"We were wondering whether you'd do us the honour of being her godmother"

Amy blinked back tears at the unexpected offer. "Do you… Do you guys really mean that?"

"Of course we mean it. You're one of our best friends, Amy, I can't imagine anyone we'd rather have be Victoria's godmother" Natara confirmed softly.

Mal nodded. "So, what do you say? Will you?"

"Of course. I'd be delighted to".

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**I've been waiting to find a good place to get Amy in, and this seemed like the perfect time to do so. Enjoy!**


	5. Of Surprises and Revelations

**Here's one of my personal favorite parts of the Beauty 'verse. It's supposed to act as a prequel to Beauty Redefined and explores the reasoning behind Mal and Natara still being in San Francisco in the rest of the storyline (except for the non-flashback part of Beauty Redefined and their eventual honeymoon, which I still need to come up with a location for).**

**Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer - If I owned CoD it wouldn't have ended as soon as it did.**

**Setting - Around two months after the ending of V16E7. Kind of an AU version of the series epilogue.**

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Mal sighed, tapping the pen in his hand against his desk. It had been two months (two and a half months, if he was being exact) since the Firstborn case had finally concluded with the serial killer's death. And things had been way too quiet for the brunette detective's liking. "Hey"

The familiar voice and gentle hand on his shoulder caused Mal to look up, smiling as he looked into the grey eyes of his girlfriend. "Hi".

His girlfriend sank down into the chair next to his desk. "Did I miss anything interesting?" she queried.

Mal shook his head. "No, just paperwork. Anders was insistent that I spend a week requalifying to use my service weapon and everything after what happened two months ago, so I've been busy with that, and today I got cleared for active duty again. I don't officially start again until tomorrow though, and even then I'll probably only be working half the hours for another three days while I finish any recovering that's left for me to do" he responded.

Natara sighed. "I see".

There was a pause for a few seconds, and then Natara's face broke into a smile. "Oh, by the way, there was something I wanted to show you".

She reached into the pocket of her jeans, withdrawing a folded sheet of paper, which she placed on the desk in front of her boyfriend. "Have a read of that".

Mal unfolded it, and did as his girlfriend suggested, his eyes widening in surprise as the contents sunk in. "Really?"

Natara nodded wordlessly, and Mal pulled her into a tight hug. "That's fantastic news, Nat. I'm so happy for you".

"I wouldn't have had the courage to go through with suggesting it to the Director if it wasn't for you backing me up, Mal. I need to go tell the Captain, could you call Amy and the others and get them to come up here as soon as they're free? I think it's best if we tell them all at once rather than one or two at a time".

"Of course, Nat"

"Thank you"

Mal's girlfriend placed a brief kiss to his cheek before taking the piece of paper and walking in the direction of Captain Ander's office. He waited for a couple of minutes, watching her walk away, before pulling out his cell phone and dialling a number. "Hello?"

"Hi, Amy. Is Kai there at the moment?"

There was a pause, indicating that the data analyst was checking for the technician's presence, before she responded. "Yup!"

Mal grinned. "Good. Could you put me on speaker, please? I'd prefer to be able to talk to you both at the same time"

"Sure, Mal, no problem!"

"Thanks, Amy. That makes things so much easier".

There was a pause before the data analyst spoke again. "Alright, Mal, you're on speaker. What can we do for you?"

"Natara wants both of you up here as soon as possible. She has a rather important announcement that she wants to make today, and she'd prefer everyone to hear it at once rather than just a few people at a time" the detective replied.

"Alright, we should be up there in about five minutes!"

Mal allowed himself a slight smile. Everything was going perfectly so far. "Great. I'll see you soon then".

"Yup!"

And with that, the data analyst hung up. Mal waited for a few seconds before hitting the button to end the call and keying in Jeremy's number. "Jeremy?"

"Mal. It's good to hear from you. You and Natara really had us worried".

Mal chuckled. "We're absolutely fine. No need to worry about us".

His friend laughed for a brief moment as well, before becoming serious. "What do you need?"

"Can you get Reed and meet us back at the Precinct? Natara has an announcement that she'd like to make, and she'd prefer to make it in front of everyone at the same time".

"Any hints you can give me as to what's going on?"

Mal laughed. "Nope. You'll just have to wait and see".

"Darn you. Alright, we'll be there soon".

**~Shortly afterwards~**

"Looks like we're all here. So, if you don't mind telling us what this is all about now, Mal…"

_Not all of us are here, really._ Mal thought bitterly. _Blaise sacrificed herself to kill Noroi and save San Francisco from the Nightmare drug…_ "Patience, Jeremy. I promise all will be revealed soon enough".

"But how soon is that?" Kai wondered.

Mal was considering his next words carefully when the door to the Captain's office opened and his girlfriend stepped out into the bullpen, followed closely by Captain Anders. "Attention, everyone. Agent Williams here has a special announcement that she'd like to make".

"Oh, so that's how soon" Kai muttered, receiving a glare from the Captain which shut him up almost immediately.

Natara smiled gratefully at the Captain. "Thank you, sir. As I'm sure you will all remember, given the work that each and every one of us had to put in to stop him, and the sacrifices that were made, it has been two months since The Firstborn and his allies were killed. I received a call from the Director of the FBI yesterday. As my investigation into the Maskmaker's mysterious benefactor has officially concluded, they wanted me to return to DC immediately. However…"

She paused, letting her words sink in. "However what?" Reed prompted.

"With Mal's support, I was able to convince him to let me stay here. As it turns out, he had been looking for someone to act as a liaison between the FBI and this Precinct for a while, and, after talking with me yesterday, he came to the conclusion that I would be perfect for the job".

She pulled out the letter, unfolding it and laying it on Mal's desk so that everyone could read it. "This letter arrived from the Bureau earlier today and officially confirmed it. I'm officially the liaison between this Precinct and the FBI now".

"So, what does that mean?" Amy queried.

"It means that while I'll still have to check in with the Director in Quantico every once in a while, by either email or phone call, I'm free to stay here in San Francisco for as long as I want to and continue to solve murders with the rest of you"

As their friends digested this news, Natara turned to Mal, giving him a questioning look. Knowing what she needed immediately, without her even having to ask, he moved to her side, slipping an arm around her side as she burrowed her head into the crook of his neck. "I'm so amazingly proud of you, Natara. You did what you had to do, and you got out of it the exact result you were hoping for. You just continue to amaze me" he whispered quietly.

She smiled, lifting her head to look into his eyes, and pressed her lips to his briefly. "I have all I could ever need right here in San Francisco, why would I ever want to go anywhere else?"

_I can think of one very good reason. Actually, make that two very good reasons _Mal thought wistfully, though refrained from voicing such thoughts out loud. He had waited years for someone like Natara to come into his life, he could wait a little longer. And when he couldn't wait any more… well, he'd be sure to get it absolutely perfect. Because perfection was exactly what Natara Williams deserved.

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**There we go, I hope that explained it! Please Review!**

**Oh, and if you guys could possibly vote in the Poll on my profile, I swear I will love you guys for freaking ever.**


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